Fit for Life: “Almost” Doesn’t Cut it

It was placed perfectly in the far corner of the end zone where only the receiver could catch it.

The defender was all over him and at the last second the receiver jumped in the air and made an incredible athletic play with a finger-tip catch. But when he came down, his toe was an inch out of bounds and it didn't count. On the very next play, they handed it off and the running back uneventfully punched it in the end zone. When it came time for instant replay, the play they showed 10x wasn't the exciting finger-tip grab, but the running play. The one that counted. The one that put points on the board.

The reason I am writing about this is to hit home the statement that you don't get credit for almost, or trying, or saying could've, or would've......only done! One of my business mentors always says, it doesn't matter how long or hard you work, you will only get paid for what you get done.

Multi-tasking and getting things partially done doesn't pay your bills. Having five different projects going on and working until midnight doesn't mean you are productive; just because you are working "hard" or putting in a lot of hours. But when you work efficiently and GSD you get a solid return for your efforts. Someone can create a beautiful, eye catching ad, with nice colors, cool pictures, and a catchy phrase, but if the ad doesn't convert and get you customers, it's useless. The ad that brings people to purchase your products and bring money into your business, are the successful ones, regardless of the content.

Now compare those circumstances to your health and fitness program. You can put in the work to shop for healthy foods, go home and prepare all your meals for the week, eat perfect all day, then go home and blow it with a dessert or a few drinks. Yes, you did great MOST of the day, but you will not get the result you are looking for by "almost" eating perfectly. The scale won't be down and you will get discouraged because you worked hard for the most part, but you didn't fully follow through and get the job done.

I am not writing this article as form of punishment or to undermine and discourage your hard work and effort. I am writing this to encourage you to go that last step and make all your hard work worthwhile. So you will follow through, and "get paid" for your efforts, instead of working for nothing. The same goes for your exercise routine. My clients all come to Providence Fit Body Boot Camp and work their butts off on the workout floor. Nobody leaves here with a dry t-shirt. Every workout is challenging, and programmed to get you the best results possible. But you will not achieve desirable results if you are not consistent. Unfortunately, it happens. People come in and go like gang busters and get 3-5 workouts in weekly. They see great results, then boom, they miss a week and the results stop, or they get less consistent and only show up 1-2 times a week.

Sure they ALWAYS work hard but once again, you only get paid for consistency and completing your week with the required amount of workouts to get the job done.

I run challenges on a regular basis. Sometimes 4 weeks, and sometimes 6 weeks, and the folks that get the best results are the ones that follow through and complete the program by following the guidelines to perfection. This is the outcome 100% of the time. When people follow through and stay consistent they are more successful than the ones that don't.

I tell my high school football players that playing hard a few quarters or games will not take us to the championship. Champions do not take days off. These kids worked in 95-degree heat to practice being good football players, and I would hate to see them waste the time and effort, by not playing at their full potential 100% of the time they step foot on the field.

You won't win without complete follow through and effort! Just remember folks that regardless of how hard you work at something you will only be successful if you take it to completion. Although the health and fitness lifestyle requires a lifelong effort, achieving your short term goals requires you to take that extra step and follow through with pin point consistency. Don't work tirelessly at something to blow it in the end. I hate seeing someone work hard, put their time in, and get a bad return on their investment. Don't run 25 miles and get distracted or walk away. Push yourself a little more and cross that finish line. The 26th mile will be the most satisfying, and if you don't run it, you beat yourself up for nothing. Remember, you only get paid for "done'. Almost won't cut it!

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.